


Two Nations United by a Bow

by JAKQ7111



Series: Jungby Generations [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu | Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War
Genre: Battle Preparations, Cousins, Family Bonding, Gen, History Discussion, Really Just an Excuse for Lore Dumps, Strategy & Tactics, Unrequited Crush, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:42:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23645572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JAKQ7111/pseuds/JAKQ7111
Summary: It is the night before the planned scout mission to Jungby, and Faval and Lester discuss their approach.
Relationships: Delmud | Diarmuid/Lester (Fire Emblem), Delmud | Diarmuid/Teeny | Tine, Faval | Febail & Lester (Fire Emblem), Mentioned Delmud |Diarmuid/Teeny | Tine, Unrequited Delmud | Diarmuid/Lester (Fire Emblem)
Series: Jungby Generations [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1616197
Kudos: 1





	Two Nations United by a Bow

Evening had fallen in Grannvale, and Seliph's liberation army had stopped in a village inn in the west of the country. They had just taken control of Dozel castle, and were going to advance on Freege in the morning, but Seliph had given Faval and Lester different orders—to march south of Freege and scout for a potential ambush from Jungby's infamous Beigenritter. Being archers themselves, and descendants of Jungby's Crusader Ulir at that, the young commander deemed the cousins the best fit for this job. That was their plan for tomorrow, but tonight, the two sat down at the inn's bar, discussing their plans, not only for this mission, but also for what they will do once the war finally ends.

“So, it's settled!” Faval heartily began. “We head south to Jungby, and storm the castle while the Beigenritter aren't looking! They won't know what hit 'em, and Jungby will be ours again!” the enthusiastic sniper raised his fist in the air, punctuating his sentence with a swig of ale.

“Now, now, Faval. Settle down.” Lester replied, his voice quieter and tone more even than his major-blooded cousin's. “This is only a scouting mission. We may not even be fighting anyone! It is entirely possible that Oifey and King Lewyn were misinformed when they told us of Duke Scorpio's intent to flank us before we reach Freege. We should obviously keep our guard up in case we truly will be attacked, but it would only serve to get us both killed if we just charged headfirst into an ambush with no plan.”

This was one of the things that Faval found most irritating about the blue-haired bow knight before him: He was always so calculating and cautious when he fought, and he never took any real risks. He supposed it made sense, though. While he was an orphan who took up gladiator fights to earn enough gold to feed himself and Patty, Lester grew up with Lord Seliph in Isaach, raised by his own mother while hiding from the Empire. Still, these differences made them that much better as a team. They complemented each other well enough, and Faval was smart enough to listen to his cousin most of the time.

“Fine, you're right.” the sniper huffed. “But that Duke Scorpio really pisses me off. He's just another toady to the Empire! A good ruler should always have the people's best interests at heart! I just want to fight him and show him what a _real_ man of Jungby looks like!”

Lester sighed, rolling his eyes at Faval's exuberance. The blond was very much his mother's son, if everything his own mom said about Lady Brigid was to be believed. Supposedly, she was a legendary spitfire who never ran from a fight. The same could certainly be said of Faval, for better or worse. Luckily, just as Brigid had Aideen to keep her out of trouble, Lester would be there for his cousin, tempering his more aggressive urges.

“You do realize that you have to actually _live_ through the end of the war before you can reclaim Jungby, right?” the bow knight rhetorically asked. “I know you think you're invincible as long as you're wielding Yewfelle, but I still implore you to be careful on this mission. Don't forget, as much power as your holy bow gives you, that means you also bear the responsibility to live on. House Jungby is rightfully yours, after all, and it will be through you that our family's legacy will return to one of good, not evil. And not to mention, Yewfelle will likely need more wielders in the generations to come, and I know you'll make an excellent father if the right woman comes along.”

As much as the sniper knew his cousin had a point, his speech still left him flustered. That part about settling down and becoming a father especially. Sure, Faval loved taking care of Patty and the kids he grew up with at the orphanage, but fatherhood? That was a whole other story—one he wasn't remotely ready to think about yet.

“Wh-what the hell are you talking about?!” he sputtered, face flushed with embarrassment. “You don't just start spouting crap like that in the middle of a bar! And besides, you're one to talk to me about living through this bullshit war! Aren't you the prince of Verdane or something? You need to live on for your country, too! And you don't get to talk to me about 'the right woman' coming along when you've been mooning after that Dermott guy for as long as I've known you! I'll never understand what you see in a fire-sword fancy boy like him, but I guess that ain't my business.” he shrugged his shoulders and took another sip of his ale.

Now that was a low blow that the sniper dealt. He clearly didn't intend to, but mentioning Lester's crush on Dermott took the wind right out of the bow knight's sails. “He likes Tinni, anyway...” the blue-haired man muttered as he buried his head in his folded arms and sighed heavily.

“Oh, shit.” Faval's face dropped as he looked over at his heartsick cousin. “I'm sorry, Lester. I didn't mean to upset you. Here, let's change the subject!”

The blond momentarily wracked his brain for something else to talk about. The mission? Nah. They already discussed their plans for dealing with Scorpio's army, and don't need to rehash it. Gossip? No, that's Patty's specialty, and it always drove Faval crazy when she did. Sadly, this was war, and neither archer had the time to cultivate much in the way of hobbies. There will be plenty of time for that after they take Belhalla, he would say to himself often.

That's when he caught sight of something poking out of Lester's satchel. It looked like an old book, with an engraved and painted bow on the cover. In fact, the bow depicted looked an awful lot like Lester's famous Killer Bow. There had to be something to that, and so Faval decided to try lifting his cousin's spirits by inquiring about the book and its cover.

“What's that book you've got there?” he asked, pointing at the satchel. “And is that a picture of your bow on the cover?”

Lester sharply lifted his head from his hands, startled by the sniper's sudden question. “Oh! Umm, actually, it's a treatise on the historical relationship between Jungby and Verdane. It focuses mostly on trade, but it also talks about some cultural exchange between the two lands. It was written by some scholar from Evans around fifty years ago. He was supposedly a close friend to my late grandfather, the former king of Verdane. But, I'm sure you'd find it pretty boring...” he looked down, averting his eyes from his curious cousin.

“Oh, no! Not at all!” Faval clapped the calmer man's shoulder in a gesture of encouragement. “That sounds like it could be great! But, why the bow on the cover? Is it supposed to look like yours?”

“Actually, yes.” the bow knight confirmed. “You see, archery wasn't really a thing in Verdane back when it was founded. The most traditional fighting style back there was just unmounted axe combat. We were supposedly so proud of our axe fighters that when Verdane was unified into one kingdom, they decided to make their coat of arms just a set of battleaxes crossed together. Bows didn't get introduced to the Verdanite people until a few hundred years ago, when the duke of Jungby established a formal trade relationship with their neighbors to the west. Supposedly, it was around this time that some Verdanite soldiers decided to integrate archery into their fighting style, since bows were easier to lug around than heavy hand axes, and that's how the Verdane Warrior style was born! A combination of native tribal axe fighting with what they thought was Jungby-style archery, and a truly home-grown Verdanite original!”

“Okay, that sounds pretty interesting, but I'm still lost on why the bow on the cover looks exactly like _your_ bow specifically. Is there a story behind that, too?”

Lester sighed, having gotten so lost in his little tangent that he forgot completely about Faval's original question. “Oh, right.” he grumbled to himself. “Sorry, I got a little distracted. Anyway, yes, that is the Killer Bow on the cover of the book. Back when archery first caught on in Verdane, they mostly just used basic iron and steel bows, like in Jungby. However, around a hundred years ago, some woodcarvers decided they wanted to try fashioning a bow out of wood harvested from this particular kind of redwood tree that only grows in the Spirit Forest. What he made ended up being a bow that was not only just as durable as the metal ones they got from Jungby, but was less than half the weight, making it easier to carry and to land critical strikes. That bow was none other than the famous Killer Bow—the very same weapon I carry, and my father carried before me.”

“No way!” Faval's face lit up when he heard his cousin's explanation. “I knew your bow was deadly, but I had no idea it was such a historical artifact, too! Of course, it doesn't have the same pedigree that my Yewfelle has, but it's still got just as cool an origin story. It's a lot like you, in a way! The perfect union between Jungby and Verdane!”

That comment elicited a laugh from the normally stoic bow knight. “Heh. I guess you're right! Perhaps it was fate that brought my mother to Verdane, so she could meet my father and fall in love, literally marrying the neighboring nations together. You know, this just gave me a whole new perspective on my- on _our_ family. We have to end this war quickly, so we can restore the good name of House Jungby, and maybe even bring peace back to Verdane at last.”

“Sounds like a plan, cuz!” the sniper playfully punched his cousin on the arm, giving him a proud smile. “We're going to kick that Scorpio's ass tomorrow! For Jungby!” he threw his fist in the air as he shouted his battle cry.

Lester simply rolled his eyes as he stood up from the bar stool. “Fine, fine.” he grumbled. “But let's get some sleep first.”

And with that, the two archers made their way back to their room in the inn. They had a long day ahead of them, after all. Restoring a family's name was exhausting work.

**Author's Note:**

> We've seen Brigid and Aideen's relationship develop, and now it's time for their sons to take the stage! Really, this was just an excuse to talk about my take on why Verdane has unmounted bow-users in their armies, and where the Killer Bow originated. In my heart, that bow is Verdane's legendary weapon, and no one can tell me otherwise.


End file.
